Politics&Rights

Politics&RightsComments Off on GLAAD applauds Tennessee State Senate for stopping destructive anti-trans bill

Pro-LGBTQ Tennesseans must continue fighting #SlateOfHate currently in Tennessee Statehouse NEW YORK – Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, released the following statement after the Tennessee Senate rejected the destructive, anti-trans Senate Bill 771, the “bathroom bill” that would permit open discrimination against transgender Tennesseans. “The Tennessee State Senate took an important step in stopping SB771, the ‘bathroom bill’ that would have caused public backlash, upended the state economy, and put the lives of transgender Tennesseans in jeopardy. But the state legislature still has a number of other bills - #SlateOfHate - that could permit open discrimination to the entire LGBTQ community. Tennesseans cannot let up until this entire #SlateofHate is wiped clean.” This is the second consecutive year that GLAAD has ...

Politics&RightsComments Off on Victory Fund candidate on ballot in Georgia today

Today the newly established city of South Fulton, Georgia holds its first ever mayoral race. One of the nine candidates vying for the seat is Rafer Johnson. South Fulton was established as a city in a November 2016 referendum, becoming one of Georgia’s largest cities and the largest African American majority city ever established in the United States. If elected, Rafer would not only be the first mayor of South Fulton, but also the only LGBTQ mayor in Georgia. Tags: Rafer Johnson South Fulton Georgia

A media operative is overjoyed because the victim’s of yesterdays “Terror Attack Committed by Islamic Supremacists That Had Nothing to do with Islam” were so diverse! A snapshot of London’s magnificent diversity in those injured: French, Romanian, Korean, German, Polish, Irish, Chinese, US, Italian, Greek. Ace asks: Why does a white racist killer somehow create an obligation in me to examine how my own internalized “white supremacy” might be part and parcel of the attack, whereas the terrorism committed by a Islamist is definitely not cause for any self-reflection within the Muslim community about how their own hatreds and ideas of Islamic Supremacy might have something to do with the latest jihadi rampage?

Politics&RightsComments Off on Time cover story highlights evolving gender identities

In the new issue of Time Magazine, an article titled “Infinite Identities” is featured on the cover, drawing on a GLAAD-commissioned survey to explore the evolution of gender and sexual identity in younger (Millennial) generations. The survey found that 20% of Millennials identify as something other than strictly cisgender and straight, as compared to 7% of Baby Boomers. The article points out that some feel as though there are more people than ever identifying as LGBTQ, but that this is likely a result of growing rates of acceptance—individuals who are coming out as LGBTQ are doing so because they feel more comfortable than they may have in prior years. "There have been the generations that have lived by the rules and those generations...

Last week we asked you to send us a message to trans teens affected by the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Education Department’s guidance protecting them in schools. The response was overwhelming – with more than 600 thoughtful, inspiring messages sent to us to share with trans teens. In addition to sharing some on social media, we wanted to provide you with some of our favorites here.

United We DreamDespite Trump administration assurances that only violent individuals are being targeted for deportation, many others, including LGBTQ immigrants are being rounded up and face ouster. Daniela Vargas, 22, hid in fear and for hours in a closet as agents who’d come to family home detained her brother and father, whom they sent back to Argentina, according to press reports. Then, after she spoke at a rally about their deportation, the Jackson, Mississippi resident was herself detained and faces deportation. Vargas, who was brought to the U.S. as a child, had DACA status (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), which had lapsed, but for which she now hopes to apply for renewal. Thousands have rallied to support her, including the more than 25,000 who signed the &ldquo...

Politics&RightsComments Off on Ivory Aquino, Alexandra Grey, Jazzmun talk to GLAAD about playing trans characters in ABC’s ‘When We Rise’

#pageSlider {background-position: top;} On Monday, February 27, the ABC mini-series When We Rise premiered, with new episodes airing every night this week at 9:00 pm ET. From Academy Award-winning writer-director Dustin Lance Black, the series chronicles the history of the LGBTQ community from the 1970s up until now. The eight-hour series chronicles how the LGBTQ movement on the west coast developed, and the prominent advocates and organizations who led the way, including trans leaders Cecilia Chung, Bobbie Jean Baker, and Seville. All of the trans characters in the series are played by actresses who are also transgender. Legendary trans advocate Cecilia Chung is played by Ivory Aquino. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE magazine, Aquino said that as a young transgender girl from ...

Politics&RightsComments Off on Historic increase in LGBT representation with big wins in Berwyn, IL

The suburban city of Berwyn, Illinois quadrupled LGBT representation in their local government after a string of historic wins in the February 28 elections. Prior to Tuesday, Marge Paul was the first and only LGBT elected official in the city, serving on the Berwyn Board of Aldermen. The string of close, historic electoral victories has tripled LGBT representation in the city, which is just outside Chicago. Tags: Berwyn Jeanine Reardon Marge Paul Jose Ramirez Scott Lennon

Photo Credit: Kiki Kiki, a new documentary about LGBTQ youth of color and the kiki and ball scenes, comes out in select Los Angeles theaters and video on demand services tomorrow, Friday, February 24th. It will open in New York City March 1. The film follows those in the ballroom and kiki scenes over the course of four years; showing everything from their involvement in the world of ballroom competitions, to their personal stories of familial relationships and homelessness, to political and HIV and AIDS advocacy. Made as a collaboration between Kiki gatekeeper, Twiggy Pucci Garçon and the Swedish filmmaker Sara Jordenö, Kiki is largely considered to be a modern descendant to the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning. As well as being released on demand for Sundance Selects on...

Politics&RightsComments Off on Mayoral candidate Rafer Johnson and husband attacked with new ads

Victory Fund endorsed candidate Rafer Johnson is under attack in Georgia – with thousands of homophobic text messages, emails and flyers being distributed across South Fulton, where he is running in a historic race for mayor. Tags: Rafer Johnson

1. Trump makes statement. 2. Media attack statement as outrageously false. 3. Trump statement proves accurate. Rinse and Repeat. Here is another example. Trump was also right about the voter fraud thing, but you knew that already.

Politics&RightsComments Off on Mayoral candidate Rafer Johnson and his husband targeted in political ads

Victory Fund endorsed candidate Rafer Johnson is being targeted with political attack ads featuring him and his husband. Rafer – who is running for Mayor of South Fulton, GA – says the ads are intended to send subliminal messages and aim to make voters feel awkward about his sexual orientation. Tags: Rafer Johnson

Politics&RightsComments Off on Why can’t we ever stop talking about Russia?

I’m not saying there’s a direct connection. But it is weird. If you followed politics anytime between 2013–2015, you are certainly aware of the preponderance of stories surrounding LGBTQ rights and the Russian government’s hostility toward them. From the 2013 “gay propaganda law” to the controversies surrounding the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, to the many stories about American anti-LGBTQ activists’ acting in concert with Russian activists in order to strategize around shared concerns, there was a three year period of time where just about any domestic story that popped up about the Eurasian nation or its President, Vladimir Putin, somehow involved LGBTQ rights, either in part or in full. Firsthand stories about the frightening state of being LGBTQ in Putin’s Russia were everywhere at the time...

Politics&RightsComments Off on Racist Bigotry Is So Hawt in the Democrat Left Right Now

The Democrats are eager to harness the #BlackLivesMatter movement to till the fields of social justice and pick the bright fluffy cotton of electoral participation. The Masters Leaders of the Democrat Party are even inviting some of them to serve inside the house, as it were, with positions of leadership and influence within the party. #BlackLivesMatter leaders got to advise President Obama. They were paraded on stage at the 2016 DNC Convention. No one aspiring to be chairhumanoid of the Democrat Party can say anything but “wonderful” about the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Here’s what one of the leaders of the #BlackLivesMatter movement had to say about white people. “Whiteness is not humxness, in fact, white skin is sub-humxn,” she wrote. “All phenotypes exist within the ...

Politics&RightsComments Off on Christian rocker Trey Pearson releases his first solo single after coming out

Photo credit: Trey PearsonToday, out Christian rock artist Trey Pearson premiered the lyric video for his brand new solo single, Silver Horizon. This song marks the beginning of a new start for Pearson, who came out last year in a heartfelt letter in (614) Magazine. The song will be available starting tomorrow, February 10 on iTunes and Google Play. A music video for the song, directed by Stephen Cone (Henry Gamble's Birthday Party, The Wise Kids), will follow in March. Last June, Pearson appeared on The View to discuss his coming out story and the importance of his faith. Pearson talked about his hope that telling his story will create acceptance within his church and encourage people to "be willing to have the conversation in...

Politics&RightsComments Off on Don’t miss these LGBTQ nominees, performers at the Grammys!

Photo Credit: Recording Academy / Grammys FacebookThe 59th Annual Grammy Awards will air live on CBS this Sunday, February 12th at 5 PM PT/8 PM ET from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The nominees include several LGBTQ musicians, with others set to perform and present at the show. In the category Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, out singer Halsey has managed to grab a nomination with The Chainsmokers for their song “Closer.” Sia, who was recently nominated for a GLAAD Media Award, has also been nominated in this category for her song “Cheap Thrills” with Sean Paul. In addition, Sia is nominated in Best Pop Vocal Album for her album This is Acting. Country star Brandy Clark (another GLAAD Media Award nominee) scored two nominations...

I am very disappointed that Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Secretary of Education. I would have preferred the Department be disbanded, or reorganized as a small ‘Think Tank’ operation with only an advisory (not regulatory) role on education. The existence of the Department of Education at the Federal Level is just typical political class arrogance. They honestly believe that without the “firm hand of national Government” squeezing them by the throats, that states and cities are incapable of educating their children. Still, it was amusing that the person Obama picked to head the Education Bureaucracy was the same guy who ran the public school system that wasn’t good enough for Sasha and Malia.

Politics&RightsComments Off on FIRST PERSON: Mike Pence’s RFRA forever damaged my state

Photo Credit: Ben YoderGuest post by Ben Yoder, an educator from Vice President Mike Pence's home state of Indiana. When Mike Pence was chosen to be Donald Trump’s running mate during last year’s presidential campaign, the moment was very bittersweet. On one hand, I was elated that the man who signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and turned the clock back on my home state’s progress would soon be out of office. On the other hand, I was terrified at the possibility of this horrific governor becoming our nation’s vice president. I’ve been a Hoosier all my life. I spent my childhood in Goshen; I went to college at Ball State University in Muncie; and now I am honored to...

Politics&RightsComments Off on Rediscovering The Joy of Mocking the President

Saw this on the Zuckerberg Personal Information Accumulator earlier; posted on the page of a friend who is both conservative and a Trump supporter. Donald Trump replaces George Washington painting in Oval Office with Vigo the Carpathian (A bit obscure, but it’s really funny if you get the reference) There’s also a fun meme going around about Trump’s executive order signing; and a lot of the people sharing them are conservatives and Republicans. Over the last eight years, the left would not dare poke fun at Obama. They wouldn’t dare. The Onion did one piece mocking Obama’s ubiquitous TelePrompter, and it of course prompted Obama’s supporters to shout “Knock it off!” On one of the rare occasions SNL offered ...

Saturday afternoon at the historic Stonewall Inn, GLAAD is among numerous advocacy organizations in NYC hosting an LGBT Solidarity Rally to show communal support for equality and acceptance and resist the Presidential administration's discriminatory actions against immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and more, including the reported sweeping "License to Discriminate" executive order. "We stand in solidarity with every immigrant, asylum seeker, refugee and every person impacted by Donald Trump's illegal, immoral, unconstitutional and un-American executive orders," states the rally's event page. The rally will take place at 2 PM ET on Saturday at Stonewall Inn, the site of the historic uprising in 1969 that many consider the start of the modern LGBTQ movement. The first LGBTQ national monument, Stonewall is where many LGBTQ ...

Politics&RightsComments Off on Nine candidates for local office receive Victory Fund endorsements

Above: Rafer Johnson, one of nine candidates endorsed by Victory Fund today. Today Victory Fund endorsed nine candidates running for office in the 2017 election season. Victory Fund aims to increase the number of LGBT elected officials at the state and local levels in 2017, to help push forward equality and mitigate the effects of anti-LGBT efforts from all levels of government. The newly endorsed candidates are: Endorsed Candidates

In the mid-1980s, the United States military had yet to even enact its discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, operating instead under an even more sweeping ban on openly LGBTQ soldiers whether they were silent or not. As they usually are on hot topics of the day, university students across this nation were embroiled in debate as to whether or not military recruiters should be allowed on their campuses, since the armed forces’ hiring practices were in violation of many of these schools’ own nondiscrimination policies. Columbia University was one such school. In fact, the debate was so much on the minds of students that the Columbia Spectator, in the 1986 edition of its annual questionnaire for prospective student senators, put the question of military recruitment at ...